There is no reason to mock the prophet

Submitted by John Bastile (Malaysia), Feb 9, 2006 at 13:03

The recent cartoon incident reveals the ‘hot button' that works to cause an outrage amongst the muslims. This is a clear case of gross cultural misunderstanding between the West and Islam.

The Western world must understand a few important facts. Islam is the religion of peace. Hopefully, the recent outrages over the Danish cartoons should send a clear message to what extent peaceful muslims will do to ensure that peace exists. It is upsetting to learn that the West deliberately provoke peaceful muslims. They are left with no choice but to burn flags and embassies to maintain the peace.

All of us should be grateful to Mohammed as Allah was quoted saying that if not for him, Allah would not have created the universe. Moreover, if you read the Koranic sura 33, verse 56, you will see it says "verily, Allah and His Angels pray for the prophet."

Another version, Picthall: 56. Lo! Allah and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet. O ye who believe! Ask blessings on him and salute him with a worthy salutation.

That is why, any blasphemy against the prophet will incur wrath from Allah, angels and muslims. Even Allah pray for him. Therefore, it is vital to know that Mohammed is the most important person in Islam. Make no further mistake.

In fact, the early muslims used to worship Mohammed. Mohammed worship-ended when he died.

Bukhari:V5B59N733"While Umar was talking to the people, Abu Bakr said, ‘Sit down, Umar!' But he refused. So the people came to Abu Bakr and left Umar. Bakr said, ‘To proceed, if you used to worship Muhammad, then Muhammad is dead, but if anyone of you used to worship Allah, then Allah is alive and shall never die.'"

Abu Bakr confirmed that Muslims "used to worship Muhammad."

Tabari IX:187 "Bakr saw that Umar would not listen. He went forward. ‘I swear by the Lord of the Ka'aba that Muhammad is gone. Those people who formerly worshipped Muhammad must know that the deity you worshiped is dead. Those who formerly worshipped Allah must know that Allah is still alive and immortal.'"
...In Surah 033.051 "You may put off whom you please, and you may take to you whomever you desire. You may defer any of them you please, and you may have whomever you desire; there is no blame on you if you invite one who you had set aside. It is no sin. They should all be pleased with whatever you give them. Allah knows what is in your heart."...

Another charge against Mohammed was that he was a caravan raider and thus a terrorist.
No doubt that he had led many raids and was found to have tortured people all for money. But, please understand, it was the early muslims that compelled him.

For example, Tabari IX:31/Ishaq:594 "‘Muhammad, divide the spoil and booty of camels and cattle among us.' They forced the Prophet up against a tree, and his robe was torn from him. Muhammad cried, ‘Give me back my robe. If there had been more sheep I would have given you some. You have not found me to be niggardly, cowardly or false."

The West must try to be sensitive to the prophet. Even he prayed to Allah to seek refuge from the early muslims:

Bukhari:V4B52N143"O Allah! I seek refuge with you from distress and sorrow, from helplessness and laziness, from miserliness and cowardice, from being heavily in debt and from being overcome by men."

Without Mohammed, muslims would be lost and misguided from Allah. The Quran is a complete code of life. It teaches muslims how to conduct themselves as best humans. For example, in Bukhari:V1B4N163 "The Prophet said, ‘Whoever cleans his private parts with stones should do it with an odd number of stones. And whoever wakes up should wash his hands before putting them in the water for ablution. Nobody knows where his hands were during sleep.'"

Therefore, blasphemy against the prophet is the gravest sin a person can commit. There is no other sin greater than this. That is why a simple cartoon will cause this such misery.

By the way, please remember to quote "peace be unto him" or pbuh for short, after every mention of Mohammed. You don't have to do this for – let's say Mother Theresa. That's because we are already certain that she's in heaven. Thus, we don't have to pray that she may have peace be unto her. As for Mohammed, please have some respect.

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".